STITCH ART

Our grandmothers would sit for hours on end knitting scarves and jerseys, or painstakingly sewing cushions or poring over their embroidery…a tradition that appears to be gradually dying out. Those cross stitch samplers seem to be a thing of the past and today we don’t even seem to have the time to take up the hems on that new pair of trousers.

Yet the winds of change can be seen and felt and recently we’ve witnessed a new craze for handmade items, a revival for DIY, arts and crafts and everything that is a world away from technology. A trend that is particularly noticeable in the textile industry. Moving beyond fashion, a growing number of artists are opting to use needle and thread as a form of expression.

We love the work of Argentinean artist Jazmin Berakha. Feminine patterns, the latest motifs in true ‘native’ style and a range of colours that always look fabulous.

The designs by Erin M Riley are a completely different world, combining the visual warmth of fabrics with aggressive themes, creating an intriguing sense of contradiction. Drugs, sex, weapons… a harsh criticism of contemporary society that’s a world away from those delicate embroidered flowers that decorated the tablecloths sewn with your father’s initials.

What do you think of them?

PHOTOGRAPHY: SERGE LEBLON

Serge Leblon is a Belgian photographer known for his extensive body of work, above all for magazines (he has been published in Vogue, Another Magazine, Dazed and Confused, Purple Fashion, Harper’s Bazaar…), and he has worked for companies such as Hermés and Sonya Ryckiel. In 2008 he photographed the images for the promotional campaign for Seventh Tree, the album of English group Goldfrapp (that, by the way, we love!).

His photography is the result of complete control of the light, combining textures and colours, moving away from regular and symmetrical images and seeking harmony in imbalance. Through this, he achieves figures that are off-centred, burnt and blurred, transmitting an air of nostalgia.

He is in charge of the catalogue for our spring collections!

SUSTAINABLE DECO (SARAH CIHAT)

We love the fun designs that artist Sarah Cihat gives to used and second-hand objects.

Although they may not be very novel or extremely original, her creations are “an exercise in sustainability that reincarnates existing products”, to quote the artist herself. They are recycled objects that she finds in second-hand shops or flea markets, to which she adds a very chic touch by preserving the old elements and adding subtle details to give them a touch of sophistication and new life. The work of Sarah Citah is the focus of much media attention (Vogue, Elle, The New York Times, Surface, Wallpaper, Food & Wine) and she has collaborated with big names in the world of design like Taken.

The most acclaimed collection by this New York artist –Rehabilitated Dishware- consists of old ceramic dishes that she has turned into little works of art. We don’t know if we could dirty them with a steak in green pepper sauce! Maybe they’d look better hanging on the wall of the living room, don’t you think?

INTIMATE THINGS

Who fancies being a muse for a day? Muses are magical, charming, delightful and inspiring…

‘Intimate things‘ is by young illustrator Conrad Roset and is currently on show at the Miscelánea Gallery in Barcelona.

In previous works this artist has experimented with women, taking them as his muse and studying their bodies, forms and appeal. For this latest project he has taken this concept a step further and reflected the attitudes of miniature female universes which blossom out in his skilful drawings and clever technique.

Reds that are overflowing with energy, yellows that seep everywhere, blues that speak realms and greens that fade into a tentative figure.

The perception of each individual and moment is something highly personal, which only a very few people are capable of transmitting.

PAPER ART

Today we’ve found some intricate paper figures made simply by pairs of skilled hands. Known as origami, the origins of this art lie in Japan. The idea is not to use glue, staples or scissors, just sheets of coloured paper that are folded and shaped to create different geometrical figures, as well as objects from nature such as birds and flowers.

Creating these intricate figures requires a lot of patience, plus considerable skill and perseverance, and it’s precisely for that reason that that the oriental mindset sees it as an ideal therapy for relaxation. You have to be pretty accurate when folding the paper, the basis for all the figures are squares and rectangles that are then used to create animals, flowers and trees, etc.

We think they’re a fabulous way of decorating your home or office desk. And if you use bright colours, you can really cheer up your environment. Believe us, it really is a great stress buster! What’s more, it’s not as straightforward as it looks.

If you fancy having a go at this art, then this video will show you how to create a butterfly or an elephant:

FERNANDO VOLKEN TOGNI

Fernando Volken Togni is an illustrator living in Brasil who has created a series of posters inspired by the most typical characters that a visitor encounters when he arrives in a city. Do you like them? Have you been to these cities and do you have the same impression?

If you’d like to see more of his works, have a look at them at: www.fernandovt.com

HEADING: A QUESTION OF TASTE

Aren’t these photos just delightful? They are so original, aren’t they? Perhaps they caught you by surprise? The choice and placement of each item of food or each flower used is surprisingly successful, as if it couldn’t have been any other way. The creations are strong, very strong, and the photographs have a spectacular realism.

If you would like to see the complete series, visit the website www.fulviobonavia.com, the series called A Matter Of Taste and Scent Of Flower.

ALEXA MEADE: SHEER REALISM

Numerous artists aim for a maximum sense of realism in their works. But that’s the last thing on the mind of artist Alexa Made. In fact, she’s going for quite the opposite effect: she paints people and real objects to try and make them look like pictures.

Can you imagine visiting an art gallery and stopping to observe a painting of a girl that all of a sudden blinks at you? Or sitting on the bus, and a little old man who seems to have stepped straight out of an acrylic painting comes and sits next to you?

Amazing, isn’t it? We’ve posted some images so you really can believe your eyes.

Once again, this American artist has shown us that art is always reinventing itself and never ceases to surprise us.

If you’d like to see more, check out some of her works at http://www.flickr.com/photos/alexameade.

BIRO ART

They look like photos, but they’ve actually been drawn using a blue Bic biro. Amazing, aren’t they? Pictures of everyday items drawn on white canvas, some in poster size.

They’re by Juan Francisco Casas, a young Cuban artist whose works are causing a buzz, and not just in Spain. His latest works are currently on display in Madrid, at the Fernando Padilla Gallery (C/Claudio Coello, 20).

ART THAT ISN’T QUITE WHAT IT SEEMS

Look at the shadows projected onto the wall in the images we’ve found for you here. Then look at the sculptures the light is focused on. That’s right; it’s masses of scrap iron, rubbish and other everyday items that have been picked up from the streets of London and carefully arranged so that when light is shone on them, they create the shadow of figures that are radically different from the original sculptures that cast the shadows.

They’re amazing! And they’re by Tim Noble and Sue Webster, British artists whose works have been exhibited in many of the world’s finest museums.